Curley's Wife...

We are never told her name, she is always refered to as 'Curley's Wife'. This shows how the other characters feel about her, they dont even care enough to say her name.

''looking in was Curley's Wife''

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Curley's Wife...

Curley's Wife is always wearing red, this could symbolise that she is trouble.

'' She had full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostritch feathers.''

Although it isnt obvious at the start of the novel Curley's wife is actually a very lonely character. In the barn she confesses it all to Lennie.

''I get lonely" she said. "You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How'd you like not to talk to anybody?"

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Curley's Wife...

No-one realy cares about her, when she dies Curley wants to avenge her death by killing Lennie. However he only wants to do this becasue Lennie hurt his hand and his pride.

"He worked himself into a fury. 'Im gonna get him. I'm going for my shotgun. I'll kill the big son-of-a-***** myself. I'll shoot 'im in the guts. Come on you guys.' He ran furiously out of the barn."

Curley's Wife has her own dream to be a movie star in hollywood. She shares this dream with Lennie before he kills her.

"Coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes --- all them nice clothes they wear. An' I coulda sat in them big hotels, an' had pitchers took of me. When they had them previews I coulda went to them, an' spoke on the radio, an' it wouldn'ta cost me a cent because I was in the pitcher."

REMEMBER IF YOU GET AN EMPATHY QUESTION SHE DOESNT SAY CINEMA SHE SAYS PITCHER!

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Carlson...

Carlson is a powerful, large man.

"A powerful, big-stomached man came into the bunk house"

Carlson forces Candy to kill his dog.

"Look Candy. This ol' dog jus' suffers hisself all the time. If you was to take him out and shoot him right in the back of the head--" he leaned over and pointed "--right there, why he'd never know what hit him."

Carlson has a harsh uncaring attitude, when George has just shot his best friend and is being comforted by slim he says

" What the hell d'ya spose is eating those two guys?"

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Crooks

Crooks is treated like an animal, he lives in the barn with the animals.

"Crooks' bunk was a long box filled with straw"

Crooks' main function as a character in the book is to show loneliness and racism

Friendship...

“I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl”

“Wegotafuture. We got somebody to talk to that gives a dam about us”

“I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you.”

“Someday. Wegonnaget the jack together and we’regonnahave a little house.”

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Dreams...

"O.K. someday-- we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and--"

"An live off the fatta the lan" Lennie shouted. "An' have rabbits. Go on George! Tell about what we're gonna have in the garden and about the rabbits in the cages"

"Coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes --- all them nice clothes they wear. An' I coulda sat in them big hotels, an' had pitchers took of me. When they had them previews I coulda went to them, an' spoke on the radio, an' it wouldn'ta cost me a cent because I was in the pitcher."

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Loneliness...

”Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world”

“Wegotafuture. We got somebody to talk to that gives a dam about us”

“I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you.”

“A guy on a ranch don’t never listen nor he don’tastno questions.”

“Curley’s like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys.”

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Death...

When Candy's dog is shot it exactly mirrors what will happen to Lennie

"Look Candy. This ol' dog jus' suffers hisself all the time. If you was to take him out and shoot him right in the back of the head--" he leaned over and pointed "--right there, why he'd never know what hit him."

"and george raised the gun and steadied it, and brought the muzzel of it close to the back of Lennies head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied as he pulled the trigger"

"No," said George, "No Lennie I ain't mad. I ain't never been mad, an I ain't now. That's a thing I want you to know."